Numerous types of ski boot already exist, and some of them are constituted by an outer shell having a sole which includes front and back rims for fixing to a ski, with the shell being made of a semi-rigid material capable of being deformed by mechanical clamping mechanisms in order to reduce its inside volume and thus clamp onto a deformable inner boot which receives the foot.
There is continuing research into reducing the number of operations that need to be performed in order to clamp together a foot and a ski boot. In some recent ski boots, the foot is clamped in the inner boot by pressing a rear portion of the boot upper against the leg and by locking said rear portion in position. Locking may be provided by a single mechanical device which is operated manually.
Ski boots also exist having one or more inflatable pneumatic cushions in connection with the atmosphere. The inflatable cushions have the advantage of spreading forces evenly over the foot, thereby avoiding force concentrations over regions that become tender, but they suffer from the disadvantage of requiring some other mechanical system to clamp the boot against the resilient force proved by the cushions.
The present invention seeks to provide a novel solution to closing a ski boot.